Tuesday, October 13, 2009

It can be so depressing to read the newspaper or turn on the news these days. It seems so much more attention is given to bad news than good. So much of the time I just skim the paper and completely avoid reading the bad news and search out the positive and uplifting stories. One of my favorite local columnists in the Florida Times Union is Mark Woods. I look forward to his column every week. His column this past Sunday was so heartwarming, while reading it I got a little teary eyed. The title of the column is "Ducks lucky, loved" It's a story with a tragic beginning, but a happy ending with a rather eclectic family of ducks. A man was out walking his dog when a speeding car hit a couple of ducks crossing the street and didn't stop. This gentleman, with his wife and a local vet, didn't have to get involved, but they did. This badly maimed duck survived after much TLC and several surgeries. After spending some time at the vet being nursed back to health, then living at the home of the couple who saved her, with her own little pool to swim in, she was eventually taken to her home at what is known in that neighborhood as Duck Pond. She now shares the pond with several other ducks, three of whom are named, Nelson Mandela, who spent months in a cage and is now free, Harriet Nelson from Ozzie and Harriet and Lucky who had also been previously injured and rescued by a woman and her children. I love stories like this, it may seem pretty sappy to some, but it makes you feel good to hear stories about people that care enough about God's creatures to get involved. These are my kind of people and we need more stories like this.